1. Teresa S. Welsh, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, SLIS
teresa.welsh@usm.edu

2. ‘Shaman’ c. 12,000 BC, Dordogne, France
http://www.arthistory.upenn.edu/smr04/101910/Slide18.jpg
2

3.  Top: wolf carries a table, lion
carries two vessels
 Middle: donkey plays a bull-
harp, bear dances, fox plays a
rattle
 Bottom: jackel(?) waves rattle
Front Panel of Lyre, c. 2600 B.
C., wood inlaid with gold, shell, lapis lazuli,
Penn Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology
3

4. Minoan Mural, c. 1800 B.C., Crete
http://www.heraklion-crete.org/knossos.html
4

5.  Animals revered as gods, mummified:
 Bastet cat
 Thoth ibis
 Apis bull
 Sobek crocodile
Papyrus, c. 1100 BC, Thebes
http://www.britishmuseum.org 5

6. Serpent Tempts Eve
Genesis 3: 1-8
Woodcut, “Die Bibel in Bildern” (1860)
Balaam’s Talking Donkey
Numbers 22: 21-30
Colored Woodcut, Nuremberg Bible (1400s)
6

7.  In the preface to his 1609 collection of classical
fables entitled de Sapientia Veterum (On the Wisdom
of the Ancients), Francis Bacon argued that
''beneath no small number of the fables of the
ancient poets there lay from the very beginning a
mystery and an allegory.''
 Through such fables, hidden meanings can be
exposed and made understood to unskilled ears
and eyes and “the fable serves as a very
appropriate expedient for instruction and
persuasion, the higher goals of rhetoric beyond
simple entertainment and delight."
7

8.  Parable – from Greek paraballo meaning to place
alongside or compare; a story that uses familiar
human events to teach a moral or spiritual lesson
 Proverb – from Greek proverbium or adage; a wise
saying that effectively embodies a useful truth
 Fable – from Latin fabula meaning story or tale; a
short tale that teaches a moral lesson, often using
animals.
8

9. Stone vessel (photo and drawing), c. 2400 BC, Nippur
Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul, Turkey
9

10. Papyrus, c. 1100 BC, Thebes
www.britishmuseum.org
Stone ostracon, c. 1200 BC, Thebes
www.brooklynmuseum.org
10

11. • Clever crow
• Cruel, ravenous wolf
• Greedy dog
• Evil snake
• Ferocious, proud lion
• Quiet mouse
• Sly fox
• Stubborn ass
• Wise owl
• Industrious ant
• “Go to the ant, thou sluggard;
consider her ways, and be
wise" (Prov. 6: 6–8) 11

12. • Greek historian Herodotus
claimed ”Aesop the fable-writer”
lived c. 620 - 560 B.C.
• According to Aristotle, Aesop
was:
• Slave first owned by Xanthus on
Isle of Samos
• Later owned by Iadmon who
gave him freedom because he
was such a skilled storyteller
• Became advisor to King Croesus
of Lydia
• Reportedly thrown from a cliff at
Delphi because people took
offense at some of his fables.
Earliest-Known Depiction of Aesop
Greek Red Kylix, 470 BC
12

13. • Greek name Aisopos is
version of Aethiop or
Ethiopian
• Described as having dark
skin, wide nose, stutter that
could indicate foreign accent
• Many fable animals not
Greek but African: apes,
lions, crocs, elephants,
jackals, lions, monkeys, asps,
scarabs, scorpions
Aesopi Phrygis Fabvlae, 1623
13

14.  Two of Aesop’s tales are
about Ethiopian (Nubian)
slaves
 Some tales feature Nile River
 Some scholars find Aesop’s
fables similar to “Libyan
tales” - African moral fables
built around talking animals
14
Rock Art, Namibia

15. • “You are not educated.
You never inquire. Of your
Aesop you don't know a
word” - from The Birds, a
comedy by Aristophanes
(414 BC)
• “Others tell us anecdotes or
some comic story from
Aesop” - from The Wasps, a
comedy by Aristophanes
(422 BC)
Woodcut from Fabulas de Esopo
(Madrid, 1489) 15

16.  Socrates, while in jail at the
end of his life, spent his
time turning Aesop's
fables "which he knew"
into verses - from Phaedo
by Plato (360 BC)
 “Like those who dine well
off the plainest dishes, he
made use of humble
incidents to teach great
truths” - Philosopher
Apollonius on Aesop (1st
Century AD)
Aesop’s Fables (1687)
Woodcut by Francis Barlow
16

17.  More than 600 fables attributed to Aesop
 Earliest-known collection of Aesop's Fables by
Demetrius of Phalerum (345-283 BC), a scholar at Great
Library of Alexandria. Although the work of Demetrius
was mentioned frequently for the next 12 centuries and
was considered the official Aesop, no copy now
survives.
 Earliest-surviving version translated into Latin by
Phaedrus (early 1st Century AD)
 The Fables of Aesop, first English version by William
Caxton (1484).
17

18.  Twelve languages:
 English language – 219
 French – 6
 Ancient Greek & Latin – 6
 Modern Greek – 5
 German – 4
 Italian – 3
 Spanish – 3
 Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew,
Welsh – 1 each
18
 Publication dates:
 1500s – 2
 1600s – 1
 1700s – 12
 1800s – 47
 1900s – 141
 2000s - 25

19. 19
Oldest Aesop’s Fables:
 Fabvlarvm Qvae hoc libro
cõtineñt interpretes, atq[ue]
authores (1500s)
 Contains Authors &
Interpreters of Fables
 Aesopi Phrygis Fabellae
Graece & Latine (1530/1549)
 Aesop the Phrygian’s Fables in
Greek and Latin
 Fabularum Aesopicarum
Delectus (1698)
 Selected Fables of Aesop
 Greek & Latin with
additional fables in Hebrew
& Latin, Arabic & Latin
Aesopi Phrygis Fabellae Graece & Latine
Title page (1530)

20. 20
• Oldest English version: Fables
of Aesop by Roger L'Estrange
(1708)
• H.G.L. Mag, The Eagle and the
Robin. An Apologue (1709)
• Jean de La Fontaine, Fables
Choisies (1722)
• John Locke's Aesop's Fables
(1723)
• Gabriello Faerno's Fables in
English and French Verse (1741)
• Robert Dodsley's Select Fables
of Esop (1786)

21. 21
• Aesop's Fables : A New
Version, Chiefly from
Original Sources, by
Thomas James
• with more than 100
illustrations by John
Tenniel
• Published in London by
John Murray and in New
York by Robt. B. Collins

22. 22
• Baby's own Æsop: The
Fables Condensed in
Rhyme by Walter Crane
• Illustrated by Edmund
Evans
• Published in London &
New York by Routledge &
Sons
• Reprinted in 2011 by Pook
Press

23. 23
• The Fables of Aesop:
Compiled from the Best
Accepted Sources
• Sixty illustrations
• Published in
Philadelphia by Henry
Altemus
• Altemus Young
People’s Library

24. 24
• The Fables of Aesop
• Illustrated by Edward J.
Detmold
• Published in London by
Hodder & Stoughton
• Reprinted by Hodder &
Stoughton in 1981

25. 25
• Aesop’s Fables for
Children
• Illustrated by Milo
Winter
• Published in Chicago
by Rand McNally &
Company

26. 26
• Aesop’s Fables by
Munro Leaf
• Illustrated by Robert
Lawson
• Published in New York
by Heritage

27. 27
http://www.yankeeweb.com/library/storytime/fables/fables_38.html

28. 28
http://www.yankeeweb.com/library/storytime/fables/fables_38.html

29. • “The Dog and His Reflection”
• It is foolish to be greedy.
• “The Crow and the Pitcher”
• Good use of our wits may help us out.
• “The Wolf and the Crane”
• Gratitude and greed go not together.
• “The Fox and the Grapes”
• Many despise and belittle what is beyond their reach.
• “The Ant and the Grasshopper”
• It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.
• “The Tortoise and the Hare”
• Slow and steady wins the race.
29

30. 30
Aesopica: mythfolklore.net/aesopica/
Best-Loved Aesop Fables
mmdelrosario.hubpages.com/hub/Best-Loved-Aesop-Fables
The Evolution of Aesop’s Fables ryerson.ca/childrenslit/group40.html
The Fables of Aesop as First Printed by William Caxton in 1484, by Joseph Jacobs;
London: David Nutt, 1889.
archive.org/stream/fablesofaesopasf02aesouoft#page/n11/mode/2up
Free Aesop’s Fables app for i-phone, i-pad, or android phone
read.gov/aesop/index.htm
Free Audio of Aesop’s Fables storynory.com/category/aesop/
Online Collection of Aesop’s Fables with Moral of the Story
www.aesopfables.com/aesopsel.html
Wise Animals: Aesop and His Followers
www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/exhibitions/Aesop/aesopica.html

31. 31
Thank you for your attention…
Questions?